ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
States/UTs asked to keep Fair Price Shops open for longer duration and preferably all days of week to ensure safe and timely distribution of NFSA/PM-GKAY III food grains
In view of ongoing lock-down in some States/UTs, that may curtail the functioning hours of Fair Price Shop , an advisory has been issued on 15th May, 2021 by Department of Food and Public Distribution to all States/UTs to keep the Fair Price Shops open preferably on all days of the month and distribute PMGKAY III and NFSA foodgrains to beneficiaries in a staggered manner throughout the day to allow for proper social distancing/ adherence to COVID-19 protocols at Fair Price Shops. To facilitate this, States/UTs have been requested to ensure that Fair Price Shops are exempted from the restricted hours of opening of regular market.
The above measure will ensure that foodgrain under PMGKAY III and NFSA will be made available by States/UTs to all NFSA beneficiaries in a safe and time bound manner, duly observing COVID -19 protocols, as per advisories issued by this department. All States/UTs have been requested to take necessary steps for timely distribution of foodgrains at their FPSs without causing hardships to the beneficiaries, and to give wide publicity to the measures undertaken in this regard.
Distribution started implementation of “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana”  for two months period i.e. May and June 2021 in same pattern as earlier by providing an additional quota of free-of-cost foodgrains  at a scale of 5 Kg per person per month, over and above their regular monthly NFSA entitlements to about 80 Crore beneficiaries covered under both categories of NFSA, namely Antyodaya Anna Yojana  and Priority Householders .
Click here for Advisory
Ministry of Law and Justice
Press Communiqué
Smt. Justice Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala, has tendered her resignation from the Office of Additional Judge, Bombay High Court, in pursuance of provision  To clause  of Article 217 of the Constitution, with effect from 11th March, 2022. Vide Notification of even number dated 14.03.2022.
Department of Justice , Ministry of Law & Justice.
President's Secretariat
President of India's greetings on the eve of Easter
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind has sent his greetings to all fellow citizens on the eve of Easter.
In a message, the President has said, “On the auspicious occasion of Easter, I extend my best wishes and heartiest congratulations to all the fellow citizens, especially from Christian community, living in India and abroad.
Easter is an occasion to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ that inspires us to follow the path of love, sacrifice and forgiveness. Let us learn from the life of Jesus Christ and work together for the betterment of entire humanity.
May this festival re-instil in us the sense of unity and reinforce our commitment to the well-being and prosperity of our nation”.
Click here to see the President's Message in Hindi
Ministry of Defence
IN FAC T-81 decommissioned
Indian Naval Fast Attack Craft  T-81 of the Super Dvora MK II class, was decommissioned on 28 Jan 21 at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai after having served the nation successfully for more than 20 years. Rear Admiral V Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area was the Chief Guest on the occasion.
The 25 meters long vessel with 60 tonnes displacement was built at Goa Shipyard Ltd. In collaboration with M/s Ramta of Israel. She was commissioned into the Navy on 05 Jun 1999 by the then Governor of Goa, Lt Gen JFR Jacob .
The ship, specially designed for shallow waters, could achieve speeds up to 45 knots and had the capability of day/night surveillance and reconnaissance, Search & Rescue, beach insertion, extraction of Marine Commandoes and high speed interception of intruder craft.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
Nominations for Sardar Patel National Unity Award-2020 Open till 30th November 2019
The online nominations/recommendations process for Sardar Patel National Unity Award is on and the last date for nominations/recommendations is 30th November 2019. The nominations/recommendations are still being received online in the Ministry of Home Affairs website https://nationalunityawards.mha.gov.in.
Government of India has instituted the highest civilian award in the field of contribution to the unity and integrity of India, in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Award seeks to recognize notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of national unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India.
All citizens, without distinction of religion, race caste, gender place of birth, age or occupation, and any institution/organization would be eligible for the Award.
Any Indian national or institution or organization based in India would be able to nominate an individual for consideration for this Award. Individual may also nominate themselves. State Governments, UT Administrations and Ministries of Government of India may also send nominations.
The decoration of the Award is given below:
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Waterways will usher in a new era of growth in the northeast – Shri Sarbananda Sonowal
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, has said Waterways will usher in a new era of growth in the country's North-eastern region. Inaugurating the exhibition at the Waterways Conclave in Dibrugarh, Assam he said that a waterways ecosystem that will connect India with its neighbouring nations and lead to newer job opportunities is being developed under the AatmaNirbhar Bharat vision.
Waterways Conclave opened today to a bevy of industry stakeholders and policymakers visiting the city. As many as six MOUs are slated to be signed during the event. In addition, more than forty national and global companies are participating in the exhibition.
Inland Waterways Authority of India has set up a theme pavilion to highlight the potential of the waterways sector and showcase its projects. Additionally, a dedicated Netherland Country Pavilion - comprising several Dutch companies to showcase new technology and innovation for the waterways sector - is set up at the exhibition. L&T, Brahmaputra Crackers and Polymer Limited , ITD Cementation, among others, are participating in the exhibition.
The conclave is also taking forward the vision of Prime Minister on 'Vocal for Local' by giving a platform to local companies to highlight Assam's handicrafts, tea and artisans in the exhibition, notable among these being groups promoted under DRDA, Dibrugarh.
President's Secretariat
President of India releases the India rankings – 2019 and the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, released the India Rankings – 2019 and presented the India Rankings awards to the top eight institutions in different categories at a function held in New Delhi today . He also released the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements  and presented the ARIIA awards to the top two institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that recent expansion of higher education in India has widened access and improved equity. Even so, quality remains a concern. While there are islands of excellence, both in the public and private sectors, overall standards are uneven. As our higher education infrastructure continues to grow, and as enrolment rises, it is important to lift the bar. A nuanced approach is essential to ensure that higher education not only fulfils individual aspirations, but also achieves national goals and priorities.
The President noted that besides overall rankings, category-specific rankings have been undertaken for colleges and universities, as well as subject-specific rankings for engineering, management, pharmacy, architecture, law and medicine. He said that a ranking system of such a nature fosters a spirit of healthy competition between institutions. This is vital because all institutions are today competing for talent – teaching talent, research talent, the most talented students, and even the most enlightened administrators. If an institution wants to attract the best, it too has to be among the best. It has to provide an encouraging atmosphere and suitable campus culture for students and members of the academic community.
The President said that it is critical that there be a significant Indian presence in global rankings of leading universities and higher educational institutions in the very near future. We live in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, amid a knowledge society and an innovation economy. We cannot realise our potential without the requisite education infrastructure – measured both by numbers and standards. That is why the keen sense with which institutions participate in the India Rankings mechanism should persist and be escalated to striving for and achieving rankings among the global best.
Click here for President’s Address
Election Commission
ECI Flagship IT Program - Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System  – a success story
E-postal ballot recorded 60.14% turnout in 2019
Among the many milestones recorded by Election Commission of India during the recently concluded Lok Sabha Election 2019, Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System  is one of its kind. Compared to 13,27,627 number of registered Service Electors of last General Election in 2014, a record highest number of 18,02,646 were enrolled as Service Electors in 2019 in the world’s largest democratic election process. For the first time enabled through the dedicated portal https://www.servicevoter.eci.nic.in online registration, the service voters were sent postal ballots electronically one way to save processing time, resources and avoid human errors.
Persons working in Central Forces under Arms Act and Government officials deployed in Embassies outside the country are classified as Service Voters and are provisioned for online enrolment. Out of the total number of Service Electors in 2019 General Elections, 10,16,245 were from Ministry of Defence; 7,82,595 from Ministry of Home Affairs ; 3539 of Ministry of External Affairs and State Police 267. In the seven phases spanning GE 2019, a total of 18,02,646 postal ballots were dispatched electronically using the flagship IT programme – ETPBS of Election Commission of India. In return 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout.
ETPBS is a fully secured system, having two security layers. Secrecy of voting is maintained through the use of OTP and PIN and no duplication of casted ETPB is possible due to the unique QR Code in the portal https://www. etpbs.in. Through this system the service voters cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot, from anywhere outside their constituency, thus reducing the chances of losing the voting opportunity. The purpose of the online system was to create convenient and easy-to-use online system for Defense Personnel to become Service Voters. Service Voter turnout in 2014 was only 4%.
With the motto of “no voter to be left behind”, Election Commission of India’s ETPBS has empowered and ensured all eligible service electors with their constitutional power to vote while performing their duty for the nation.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
India’s Ujjwala Experience will Catalyse Social Change in Bangladesh, says Petroleum Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
Indian Oil’s subsidiary signs Joint Venture Agreement with RR Holdings to expand LPG business in Bangladesh
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan witnessed on Tuesday the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement  between IOC Middle East FZE,asubsidiary of IndianOil based in Dubai and RR Holdings Ltd. of Beximco Group, in the presence of H.E Salman Fazlur Rahman, Advisor to Hon. PM of Bangladesh, H.E Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Bangladesh. Through this Joint Venture, IOCL together with Beximco plans to further expand its downstream business in Bangladesh and other countries.
Shri Pradhan, while speaking on the occasion, talked about the long standing relationship between India and Bangladesh which are joined by history, culture, and shared sacrifice.Speaking about role of energy sector in India-Bangladesh relationship, he said, “I am happy to note that energy cooperation between our two countries has made considerable progress during the last few years. This is part of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri NarendraModiji’s vision to build an "Energy Bridge" with Bangladesh as a part of our "Neighbourhood First" policy. The recent official visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh to New Delhi in October 2019 further strengthened the engagement and opened new vistas of co-operation.”
Speaking about the Joint Venture Agreement, he said that this event marks yet another step towards expanding bilateral energy cooperation with Bangladesh and expressed confidence that the experience of IndianOil as a pioneer in implementing Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana towards enhancing rural penetration of LPG as a clean cooking fuel in India, would help in promoting the use of LPG in Bangladesh. This joint venture in Bangladesh would be a catalyst of socio-economic change through increase in access to clean cooking fuel in Bangladesh, he further added.
H.E Salman Fazlur Rahman, Advisor to Hon. PM Bangladesh said: “The JVA should serve as a testament to the remarkable investment potential of Bangladesh. At a time when the entire world is grappling with the severe economic consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic, this investment also reflects the resilient and enduring friendship between Bangladesh and India.”
H.E Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Bangladesh said, “As Bangladesh’s middle class is rising with higher purchasing power, the LPG sector has seen a remarkable growth over the years and is set to grow further in the coming years. As such, a partnership and investment at this scale between two experienced and major players has every potential to be a true game changer in the industry.”
Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, IndianOil, and Mr.Shayan F Rahman, Chairman, RR Holdings Ltd. also spoke on the occasion.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Setting up of Sports School
Under Khelo India Scheme 04 Kendriya Vidyalayas  have been adopted as State Level Khelo India Centres  and 10 schools are covered under National Sports Talent Contest  Scheme of Sports Authority of India. Details of the same are at Annexure I.
ANNEXURE – I
i Details of Kendriya Vidyalayas adopted as State Level Khelo India Centres under Khelo India Scheme
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S. No.
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State/Union Territory
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Schools
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-
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Delhi
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KV Delhi Cantt.
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-
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Madhya Pradesh
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KV Gwalior
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KV Sidhi
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Uttar Pradesh
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KV Ghaziabad
ii Details of schools covered under National Sports Talent Contest Scheme
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S. No.
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State/Union Territory
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Schools
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Assam
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Don Bosco HS School, Guwahati.
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Chandigarh
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DAV Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh.
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Karnataka
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St. Joseph’s India High School, Bangalore.
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-
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Madhya Pradesh
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Maharani Laxmibai Multi-purpose HS, Jabalpur.
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Manipur
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Sainik School, Imphal.
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Rajasthan
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Bhupal’s Nooles HS School Udaipur.
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Shri Guru Nanak Khalsa School Sriganganagar.
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Tripura
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Umakanta Academy, Agartala.
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Uttar Pradesh
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Udai Pratap Inter College, Varanasi.
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West Bengal
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St. Mary GH School, Sundergarh.
This Information was given by the Minister of State  for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM applauds the sports activities for senior citizen women in Gujarat
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi applauded the unique initiative the sports activities specially organised for senior citizen women in Gujarat.
In reply to the tweet threads by Minister of State in Gujarat Government, Shri Harsh Sanghavi about this unique initiative for senior citizen women in Gujarat, the Prime Minister tweeted;
“Commendable”
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Roundtable meeting with Global Funds at the Startup India International Summit sees participation of around 70 funds from around the world
India has the potential to become the most innovative nation, feel many Funds
On the day 1 of “Prarambh”, Startup India International Summit on January 15, 2021, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade , Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted a Roundtable meeting with Global Funds at 10 PM IST, corresponding to 8:30 AM PST, 16th January, 12.30 AM SGT 16th January, and 1:30 AM JST. The roundtable received participation of around 70 Venture Capital  fund investors from across the United States, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and some Global Funds domiciled in India. These funds have a total AUM to the north of $41 Bn in the Indian Region and Global AUM of more than $143 Bn.
The meeting was chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and attended by Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Anil Agrawal, Joint Secretary, DPIIT and major Indian regulators, policy makers, along with Global VC Funds. The intent of this roundtable was to listen to the concerns of Global Funds, share a progress report of the current Indian Startup-VC Ecosystem, and discuss ways ahead for Investing in India with an aim to mobilise Global Capital in Indian Innovations and promoting ease of doing business for global venture funds.
The Roundtable discussion covered topics like the growth potential of Indian startups, opportunities in the GIFT City and broad overview of the VC-Startup ecosystem. The session also covered the top regulatory issues to be addressed with the Government of India. It was pointed out in the meeting that India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world and the ecosystem has seen a dramatic transformation over the past decade. There has been K-shaped recovery in second half of 2020 – with sectors like education, healthcare, ecommerce, food delivery having been positively impacted, while sectors like travel and hospitality were severely impacted. It was mentioned by certain funds that India has the potential to become the most innovative nation on the planet in next 10-15 years. Some of the participants appreciated the Indian Government’s intent, speed, direction and action taken in promoting the Startup culture in the country, and providing a conducive environment. A number of suggestions were also made by them, which they felt could further the investors’ sentiment in the sector. Shri Goyal said that the Government has already taken a number of steps to support the startups and would do so in the future also. He invited the VCs to provide support to the startups from the initial stage itself, which would embolden them to scaleup, and diversify.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Centre issues 63 show cause notices to the manufactures/importers of weighing and measuring instruments to seek details of compliance
Centre, through Department of Legal Metrology has issued 63 show cause notices to the manufacturers/importers of the weighing and measuring instruments for seeking details of compliance. The notices were issued to manufacturers/ importers/ sellers on e-commerce platforms, seeking details of the approval of model, manufacturing/importer/dealer license and verification of weighing scales.
It has been observed that some manufacturers/importers of the weighing & measuring instruments are selling the Person Weighing Machines & Kitchen Scales etc on the e-commerce platforms without complying with the provisions of Law. Such unauthorized sales on e-commerce sites have not only created deficiency in service to the consumer but have also caused revenue loss to the Government.
To protect and safeguard the interest of consumers, the manufacturers/importers of the weighing & measuring instrument are required to get the approval of model  of their weighing & measuring instrument, manufacturing license / importer registration  and verification/stamping of weighing & measuring instrument  under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.
Further the declarations on the pre package/e commerce platform of the weighing & measuring instrument need to comply the provisions  of the Legal Metrology , Rules 2011.
The approval of model of the weighing & measuring instruments, manufacturing license/importer registration and verification/stamping of weighing & measuring instruments is mandatory in the interest of consumers and to regulate trade & commerce in weights, measures and other goods sold by weight measure or number. Further the mandatory declaration of the product needs to be made on the pre-package commodity/e–commerce platform for the consumers to make an informed choice.
The manufacturer/importer is required to maintain the records of the number of weighing & measuring instrument and their parts manufactured/ imported, sold/distributed and the details of verification fees paid to the Government.
Violation of these provisions of the Legal Metrology Act is punishable under Section 32 , Section 45 , Section 38 , Section 33  and Section 36  with fine or imprisonment or with both.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
ACC appointments
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet  has approved various Secretary level appointments.
For details, please see the link below:
LINK
Ministry of Culture
Touring Maharashtra students visit Konark Sun Temple, Puri Jagannath Temple on Day 2
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme continues at GIFT Bhubaneswar
The 50 students from KC Patil College of Engineering, Navi Mumbai, who are on a visit to Odisha as part of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme visited the iconic Sun Temple of Konark and the popular Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on the second day today.
Ahead of their visit to the iconic places, the students were briefed about the cultural heritage of the state. They were shown a presentation on the historical monuments such as Lingaraj Temple, Rajarani Temple, Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves among others by the host institute, the Gandhi Institute for Technology , Bhubaneswar.
In another session in the day, the students have participated in a language exchange programme where few common words of Odisha are learned by the visiting students. About 50 students with four faculty members are on a tour of Odisha under the EBSB programme, which aimed at creating a harmony between states and realize the dream of One India.